Celebrities including Ant and Dec, Katy Perry, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson have all arrived to celebrate the King’s coronation.
More than 2,000 people have been invited to Westminster Abbey, including around 100 heads of state, kings and queens from across the globe and everyday heroes.
Image: Dame Emma Thompson and her husband Greg Wise
Image: Ant and Dec
Arriving bright and early, actor and comedian Stephen Fry was one of the first famous faces to arrive at the abbey.
I Kissed A Girl singer Katy Perry, who will perform at the coronation concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday, was one of the early US stars to arrive, wearing head-to-toe lilac.
Presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were full of smiles as they mingled in the abbey. They are currently hosting I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, but have been invited in their capacity as goodwill ambassadors for the Princes Trust.
The Geordie duo have hosted the charity’s awards 10 times and are involved in a programme to make the media industry more accessible.
Actress Dame Emma Thompson, who is good friends with the King, arrived with her husband, actor Greg Wise, chatting to other guests as they took their seats.
The Oscar-winning star wore a bold red jacket, along with her damehood medal and insignia.
Dame Judi Dench wore a pale lavender ensemble and brimmed hat, Downton Abbey star Dame Maggie Smith wore blue, while Australian singer Nick Cave wore a dark suit and tie.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, best known for hit musicals including The Phantom Of The Opera, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, was also there.
Image: Andrew Lloyd Webber, his wife Lady Madeleine, and Labour leader Keir Starmer
The award-winning composer, who has written the coronation anthem, said writing the music acted as an “antidote” to his loss of his eldest son, Nicholas, in March.
Singer Lionel Richie, who will also perform at Sunday’s coronation concert, told Sky News: “This is not an everyday occurrence. I’m walking into history. This is the greatest show on earth right now. To have an invite to this is everything.”
Richie, 73, wore a top hat to mark the special occasion.
Image: Dame Joanna Lumley
Image: Vogue’s Edward Enninful walking into the abbey with Katy Perry
Dame Joanna Lumley, who will be commentating on the historic event for Sky News, said: “I’m so excited… saying God Save the King will be the most exciting bit. Hearing the choir, all the new songs, the old songs, will be ravishing. I’m also looking forward to seeing the Queen’s dress – it’s supposed to be spectacular!”
Other famous guests at the abbey include British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, former Play School presenter Floella Benjamin, Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones, and director general of the BBC, Tim Davey.
Spice Girl Melanie Brown was also spotted outside the abbey, chatting to press.
David and Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney, Rowan Atkinson, Bear Grylls and magician Dynamo are also expected to attend.
The King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of Canterbury during a coronation ceremony dating back centuries.
Image: Nick Cave and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Image: Baroness Floella Benjamin (R)
The King’s youngest son, Prince Harry, who stepped back from royal duties in March 2020 and moved to the US with his wife, Meghan, is also expected to attend.
The event is the military’s largest ceremonial operation since Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation, with 9,000 servicemen and women deployed and 7,000 of these performing ceremonial and supporting roles.
It’s a significantly slimmed-down event compared with the more than 8,000 guests at the Queen’s coronation 70 years ago.
Ozzy Osbourne has taken his final tour of Birmingham – with his family experiencing the love of thousands of fans who turned out to see the heavy metal star come home.
“We love you, Ozzy!” came the shouts from the crowd as his cortege stopped at Black Sabbath Bridge in the city, a site that has become a shrine to the performer since his death at 76 last week.
His family and loved ones, including his wife Sharon Osbourne and their children Jack, Kelly and Aimee, spent several minutes taking in all the flowers, messages and other tributes left in an outpouring of love from fans.
Image: Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne laid flowers. Pic: PA
Sharon was in tears as she took it all in. Supported by her children, she gave a peace sign to the crowd before returning to the procession vehicles.
Each family member carried a pink rose, wrapped in black paper, tied with a purple ribbon – the traditional Black Sabbath colours. The flowers bearing his name in the hearse were also purple.
Before reaching the city centre, the cortege had travelled past Ozzy’s childhood home in Aston. Just a few weeks ago, he was on stage at Villa Park performing his final gig alongside many of the musicians his music had inspired, from Metallica to Guns N’ Roses to Yungblud.
Image: Tributes to Ozzy can be seen all over Birmingham. Pic: Reuters
On a hugely emotional day, his presence could be felt throughout the city, with the star’s music playing in pubs and posters paying tribute: “Birmingham will always love you.”
For fans, this was a chance to say not just goodbye, but also thank you to a star who never forgot where he came from. His remarkable achievements from humble beginnings and continued love for his hometown, even when he lived thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, meant that for many, the loss feels incredibly personal.
Image: The Black Sabbath Bridge has become a shrine in recent days. Pic: Reuters
‘The Prince of Laughter – not Darkness’
Graham Wright, a roadie who worked with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and beyond, up to the Back To The Beginning reunion gig at Villa Park, told Sky News he would remember Ozzy not by his traditional nickname, the Prince of Darkness – but as the Prince of Laughter instead.
“It was a shock he left us so soon after [the show],” he said. “The show was tough for him but he was determined to say goodbye to his fans, that was the main thing. It was important for all four of [Black Sabbath] to get back together and do a farewell.
“The tears will be flowing today to see the Ozz man – the Prince of Laughter, not Darkness. He really was. We’ll all miss him.”
Image: Pic: Reuters
‘My mum used to say he was a lovely boy’
Chris Mason, general manager of The Brasshouse pub, which is next to Black Sabbath Bridge, said music by the band and Ozzy’s solo material had been played pretty much “on loop” since his death.
“I’m a metal fan and Ozzy being the godfather of the scene – if not for Ozzy and Black Sabbath, we wouldn’t have heavy metal,” he said. “This is what Birmingham is about, bringing people together, and Ozzy and Black Sabbath did that.
“He was Mr Birmingham and his family have brought him back.”
Mohabbat Ali, who used to live on the same street as Ozzy’s childhood home, said the property had become one of the focal points for tributes in the city.
Describing what it was like living near him, he said: “He played guitars, very loud at night sometimes, but my mum used to say he was a lovely boy.”
From an era of preening rock gods, Ozzy was the real deal
The sea of black was always a given – but this wasn’t about respecting funeral traditions. Ozzy himself had previously said he wanted his send-off, when it came, to be a celebration and not a “mope-fest”.
This was his final tour in the city that meant so much to him.
For fans, he meant so much to them.
For his family, the emotion was raw.
Sharon, his soulmate, has spent her life and career organising his shows, and it was clear how hard this day was for her.
After they left, fans flooded the streets to lay flowers.
Not since David Bowie has an artist’s death prompted such an outpouring of emotion. From an era of preening rock gods, Ozzy was the real deal – one of the most notorious figures in rock, but a man who remained as Brummie as can be.
‘A true legend who never forgot his roots’
Birmingham’s lord mayor, Councillor Zafar Iqbal, also attended the procession and spoke of the city’s pride in Ozzy.
“What a great honour for us to have him here one last time,” he said. “The love for Ozzy – well, you can feel it in the air.”
The star put both Aston and Birmingham on the map, he said, and always took the time to get to know people.
Mr Iqbal said Ozzy sent him a letter after reading on the mayor’s website biography how he had struggled with dyslexia at school – something the star identified with.
“I’ve got the letter in a frame and it’s in my office… he was just a natural human being, down to earth. You wouldn’t have known he was a rock star – but he was a true legend, who never forgot his roots.”
Disgraced hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has asked a judge to release him on a $50m bond as he waits to be sentenced for prostitution-related offences.
Combs’s lawyer has argued that conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn are dangerous and noted that others convicted of similar offences were typically released before sentencing.
“Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct,” Marc Agnifilo said in a court filing on Tuesday.
“In fact, he may be the only person currently in a United States jail for being any sort of John, and certainly the only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend.”
A “John” in the US is a slang term for somebody who hires a prostitute.
A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors have previously insisted he remains a flight risk and should therefore not be granted bail.
The 55-year-old, one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time, faces up to a decade in prison after he was convicted earlier this month of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The charges relate to how he flew people around the US, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, for sexual encounters.
Image: Combs knelt at his chair and appeared to pray after the verdicts
Combs was cleared of three more serious charges – two for sex trafficking and one for racketeering conspiracy – following his landmark trial in New York.
A conviction on one of those charges could have put him in prison for life.
Immediately after he was acquitted of those charges on 2 July, Mr Agnifilo had asked that Combs be released on bond.
But Judge Arun Subramanian denied it, saying Combs at the time had not met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community”.
Combs is the latest celebrity inmate to be locked up at MDC Brooklyn, the only federal jail in New York City, joining a list that includes R Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.
Ozzy Osbourne fans will be able to say goodbye to the heavy metal pioneer at a procession for his cortege through his home city of Birmingham tomorrow.
The star’s hearse will make its way down Broad Street towards the Black Sabbath bridge and bench – where thousands of fans have left flowers, messages and other tributes since his death.
Osbourne, 76, died less than three weeks after performing his “final bow” in the city – the Back The Beginning reunion with his Sabbath bandmates at Villa Park, which raised about £140m for charity.
Image: Ozzy Osbourne on stage at Villa Park just a few weeks before his death. Pic: Reuters
Large crowds are expected to gather tomorrow as fans pay their respects to the performer who shaped heavy metal music and “proudly carried the spirit of Birmingham throughout his career”, the city council said.
Members of Osbourne’s family will also be in attendance and have funded the event, the council added.
“Ozzy was more than a music legend – he was a son of Birmingham,” said the city’s lord mayor, Councillor Zafar Iqbal. “We know how much this moment will mean to his fans. We’re proud to host it here with his loving family in the place where it all began.”
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The life of Ozzy Osbourne
Mr Iqbal said it was important to the city to give the star “a fitting, dignified tribute ahead of a private family funeral”.
Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward were awarded the Freedom of the City in June, before the Back To The Beginning show, honouring their “significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham”.
The star’s cortege will travel down Broad Street from about 1pm tomorrow, accompanied by a live brass band, Bostin’ Brass. For those not able to make it, a live stream of the Black Sabbath bench, which has been running since Osbourne’s death, will continue.
There is also a book of condolence for public messages at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, alongside theOzzy Osbourne Working Class Hero exhibition, highlighting his solo career achievements.
Osbourne, the self-styled Prince of Darkness, pioneered heavy metal with Black Sabbath before going on to have huge success in his own right. He was famous for hits including Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs, Crazy Train and Changes, both with the band and as a solo star.
The singer also found a different kind of fame thanks to noughties MTV reality show The Osbournes, which followed his somewhat chaotic life with wife Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack.
Following his death, his family released a statement saying he died alongside them, “surrounded by love”.